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International Disability Treaty Helps Elderly Too
By Andrea Shettle, MSW | August 21, 2008
A New Zealand organization that represents elderly people has praised the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) because it will also help older people, the publication Scoop has reported ("Disability Convention good for seniors").
The CRPD is the first legally-binding, international treaty to protect the human rights of people with disabilities. It protects a wide range of human rights, including: right to life; right to participation in political and public life, and in cultural life, recreation, sport, and leisure; right to protection in situations of risk such as conflict or natural disaster; right to freedom of expression and opinion; the right to access education, health care services, and public transport; and many more. New Zealand has not yet ratified the CRPD–but it has signed the treaty, which is the first step toward ratification. Signing a treaty does not yet legally obligate a country to obey it, but does commit a country to avoiding any action that would violate its intent and spirit.
A representative of Age Concern New Zealand, an organization of New Zealand seniors, points out that about half of older people have moderate or severe disabilities, and urged the New Zealand government to take the next step by ratifying the CRPD.
Read more about why older people want the CRPD in the Scoop at:
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/GE0807/S00130.htm
Learn more about the CRPD and Optional Protocol by skimming the RatifyNow FAQ.
Find out if your country has signed or ratified the CRPD at http://www.un.org/disabilities/countries.asp?navid=12&pid=166
Learn how you can become involved with the global campaign to promote the ratification and implementation of the CRPD and Optional Protocol in your country and elsewhere.
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